Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Asda the health menu ultra-processed?

400 g Meals with chicken Sold in the United Kingdom

Pack of Asda the health menu

Yes, it's ultra-processed

  1. 1 Unprocessed
  2. 2 Kitchen staple
  3. 3 Processed
  4. 4 Ultra-processed

Signs of ultra-processing in its ingredients:

  • 56 ingredients
  • 1 additive
  • Nutri-Score A

Less processed meals with chicken

Less processed isn't automatically healthier, so compare the labels for what matters to you, such as sugar or salt.

Ingredients

Ultra-processing Processing signs are highlighted

Cooked Rice Mix 35% (Cauliflower Rice, Water, Long Grain Brown Rice, Bulgur Wheat, Coriander, Wild Rice, Lime Leaf), Chicken Breast 15% (Chicken 97%, Dextrose, Potato Starch, Salt), Water, Choi Sum 8%, Onions, Red Peppers, Half Cream, Edamame Soya Beans, Sweetcorn, Water Chestnuts, Garlic Purée, Ginger, Tomato Purée, Rapeseed Oil, Sugar, Sunflower Oil, Lime Juice, Modified Maize Starch, Coconut, Coriander Leaf, Spices, Salt, Basil, Shallot, Galangal, Lemongrass, Lemon Juice, Lime Leaf, Red Chillies, Lemongrass, Tamarind Paste, Makrut Lime Powder, Colour (Paprika Extract), Soya Beans, Wheat, Sea Salt, including cereals containing gluten, flavours, hydrogenated fat, WARNING Extra care has been taken to remove bones, although some may remain, NUTRITION We suggest this product provide Typical Values (microwaved), Energy kJ Energy kcal Fat

Additives: E160c Paprika extract

As written on the pack

Cooked Rice Mix (35%) [Cauliflower Rice, Water, Long Grain Brown Rice, Bulgur Wheat, Coriander, Wild Rice, Lime Leaf], Cooked Chicken Breast Pieces (15%) [Chicken (97%), Dextrose, Potato Starch, Salt], Water, Choi Sum (8%), Onions, Red Peppers, Half Cream (Milk), Edamame Soya Beans, Sweetcorn, Water Chestnuts, Garlic Purée, Ginger Purée, Tomato Purée, Rapeseed Oil, Sugar, Sunflower Oil, Lime Juice, Modified Maize Starch, Coconut, Coriander Leaf, Spices, Salt, Basil, Shallot Purée, Galangal Purée, Lemongrass Purée, Lemon Juice, Lime Leaf, Red Chillies, Lemongrass, Tamarind Paste, Makrut Lime Powder, Colour (Paprika Extract), Soya Beans, Wheat, Sea Salt. Allergy Advice! for allergens, including cereals containing gluten, see ingredients in bold. NO ARTIFICIAL COLOURS, FLAVOURS OR HYDROGENATED FAT. WARNING Extra care has been taken to remove bones, although some may remain. NUTRITION We suggest this product provide Typical Values (microwaved) Energy kJ Energy kcal Fat

What makes it ultra-processed

Cosmetic additives

Added to change how the food looks, feels or tastes, not to keep it safe. A hallmark of ultra-processed food.

  • E160c Paprika extract Paprika extract is a red-orange colour extracted from paprika peppers.
  • Colour Colours are added to restore colour lost in processing or to make a product look more appealing.
  • Flavouring Flavourings are concentrated aroma preparations that add or intensify a taste.
  • Modified starch Modified starch is starch altered physically, with enzymes or chemically, so that it thickens, gels or survives freezing and heating better than ordinary starch.

Substances rarely used in home kitchens

Refined or extracted in factories, such as syrups made from starch or isolated proteins. The other hallmark of ultra-processed food.

  • Dextrose Dextrose is pure glucose crystallised from starch-derived syrup.
  • Glucose Glucose, usually listed as glucose syrup, is cheap, keeps products moist and stops sugar from crystallising.
  • Hydrogenated fat An ingredient mostly produced industrially and rarely used in home kitchens.
5 ingredients that would only make it processed

Kitchen staples like sugar, salt and oil. On their own they make a food processed, not ultra-processed.

  • Meals Products in the category "Meals" are at least group 3.
  • Salt Salt, added for taste and preservation.
  • Starch Starch extracted from cereals or potatoes, used to thicken.
  • Sugar Sugar refined from sugar cane or beet.
  • Vegetable oil Vegetable oils are pressed or extracted from seeds, nuts and fruits.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 213 meals with chicken

From least to most processed, this one ranks 204th. 79% of the meals with chicken here are ultra-processed.

Ranked by NOVA group, then by the number of ultra-processing signs, additives and ingredients. Our ordering, not part of NOVA.

All 213 meals with chicken, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 5063089306475, last edited 25 June 2026), available under the Open Database License. If something is wrong or the recipe has changed, you can correct it there.
  • Photo: Open Food Facts contributors, CC BY-SA 3.0.
  • The NOVA group is an automated estimate from crowdsourced data: a missing or mistyped ingredient can change it.
  • NOVA measures processing, not nutrition. For nutrition, Open Food Facts gives this product a Nutri-Score of A (from A, best, to E).
  • General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.